The Portland Gussets

Killing three birds with one stone, I knit these socks to qualify for three different knit-alongs: The Sock Knitters Anonymous (designer of the month being Yarnissima), Solid Socks (the colors of the month being pink and fuchsia) and Ravelympics (any kind of socks knit during the Olympics). I finished them today, just in time to post pictures before the end of the month and the Olympics.

The pattern, The Portland Gussets, is a fairly recent one from Yarnissima, and probably one of her easiest ones. I like the clean lines, and the way the gusset increases are done. This was my first time knitting with Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock Solid (that became available for the first time at the LYS very recently). I have yet to see how it wears over time, but what I can say now that it's very soft, the colors are beautiful, and the yarn is slightly splitty. The leg of the socks turned out quite tight, for some reason, even though the stitch count and gauge are similar to many other socks I've knit. I noticed the same thing with KawKawEsque, and I wonder why it is. If I knit this pattern again, I'm going to use a larger needle for the leg only, because the foot part is not tight at all.

The Ravelry project page

KawKawEsque

Yarnissima being the designer of the month at the Sockdown on Ravelry, I decided to give this pattern another try. I first started knitting a pair a few months ago but didn't get much further than the toe, and gave up. It was still not my favorite sock pattern to knit, with the purling through back loop and such, but otherwise it was a relatively easy pattern, and I really liked the look of the socks, so I decided I had to finish them this time. For the yarn I used Araucania Ranco Solid and for the needles I used 2.25 mm circulars magic looped. They are a very snug fit. I think these socks will get a lot of use.

The Ravelry project page

Olympic Raspberry Beret

My second contribution to the Ravelympics, this simple hat pattern by Laura Chau, was perfectly suitable to be knit while watching TV. I was also glad to be able to use some year-old stash on this in an effort to slim down my ever-growing collection of yarn. I knit the size M eventually, because the size L I started at first was a bit too loose regardless of the fact that I have a big head (57 cm/ 22½ inches of head circumference feels slightly freaky for a short woman like me). I also used smaller than recommended needles for the ribbing, and that was the right choice. I might want to reknit this pattern with some drapier yarn, like alpaca, though, and something with less stitch definition, because I don't like the way the k2togs stand out with this yarn.

The Ravelry project page

Olympic Porom

Inspired by the on-going Ravelympics and my simple need for a green hat, I set to knit my fifth Porom (by Jared Flood). I've been wearing #3 a lot this winter, and I wanted another one in a different color to match some of my other clothing. I used the same yarn as in the two previous ones, Sandnes Garn Alpakka, and the needle sizes I had previously found suitable, 3mm and 4mm, and got exactly what I wanted. Sometimes it's nice to knit something that's pretty much guaranteed to be exactly what you had in mind, so I don't mind repeating the same pattern every once in a while.

The Ravelry project page

Milkweed

At some point in late January I started to feel like I'd hit a wall with sock projects, so I decided to try something different: a quick yet seemingly sizeable shawl that uses about the same amount of yarn as a pair of socks but appears larger due to the lace knitting gauge and blocking (and therefore makes me feel like I achieved something remarkable without putting too much time or effort into it). The plan worked perfectly, and the recent Milkweed Shawl pattern by Laura Chau was put to good use. I used some sock yarn, Grignasco Bambi, that I never managed to turn into a pair of socks even though I tried several times (I'm not a big fan of merino for socks, but it does feel good against your neck as a shawl.). For the needles I used 3.5 mm as suggested by the pattern. I'm pretty happy with the result! I plan on using this as a scarf, just like all the other small shawls I've knit in the past year.

The Ravelry project page